Pitt Library and Press Join Forces to Expand Digital Backlist
Andrew Albanese -- Library Journal, 12/4/2007
In an ambitious expansion of its existing D-Scribe program, the University of Pittsburgh University Library System (ULS) and the University of Pittsburgh Press (UPP) have announced a partnership that will eventually offer open access to digital editions of the press's entire backlist. The partnership kicks off with 39 books from the Pitt Latin American Series, now available online and freely accessible to scholars and students worldwide. "The press will continue to produce the hard copy and sell it for two years, then the title goes open access via D-Scribe," Pitt director of libraries Rush Miller told Library Journal.D-Scribe, the ULS's digital publishing program, has for the past decade been building digital collections that are accessible free-of-charge on the web. The materials come from Pitt collections; regional libraries, and cultural institutions; electronic journals; and the university's mandatory electronic theses and dissertations program. Over the last eight years, 60 separate collections have been digitized and made accessible. Still, with 500 titles, the addition of the digital backlist marks a groundbreaking expansion.
Many university presses look warily upon open access, but UPP director Cynthia Miller (no relation), is a "cautious supporter," library director Miller noted. "We have been in discussions for several years about this type of project. She does not believe that this arrangement with us will cut into her initial sales," as the UPP has largely moved to print-on-demand for its older titles, he said. Titles will be added to UPP Digital Editions each month until most of the current list is available in both formats. For titles published in the last decade or so, which UPP has digital rights to, the process will be quick, but older titles that include materials from other publications, such as charts, need to be cleared.
ULS is paying all of the costs associated with the project. "We have a large infrastructure within the libraries in terms of hardware, software, systems programmers, digital library staff, and web designers," Miller noted.
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